Background: A town in Leicestershire, England. The name signifies either the town on the hill, or, as Bailey says, the Bur-town, from the abundance of burs growing thereabouts. There are several places by this name in England. The derivation is generally from Old English burh + tūn fort + enclosure, settlement. A famous bearer of the surname was Sir Richard Burton (1821-1890), an explorer of Africa and Asia.